Abstract

A highly active and cost-effective Pt-free catalyst for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is significantly important for air-cathode microbial fuel cells (MFCs). In this study, a novel low-cost iron–nitrogen–carbon nanorod network-anchored graphene (Fe–N–C/G) nanohybrid was prepared for use as an efficient ORR catalyst. The morphology, chemical composition, and ORR catalytic activity of the as-prepared Fe–N–C/G were investigated by a series physical measurements and electrochemical tests. Finally, it the nanohybrid was employed as an ORR electrocatalyst in the practical air-cathode MFCs. Remarkably, Fe–N–C/G exhibited a comparable catalytic performance and stability in a neutral medium along with even better power generation performance (1601 ± 59 mW m−2) in MFCs as compared to the-state-of-the-art Pt/C catalyst (1468 ± 58 mW m−2). The superior ORR activity of Fe–N–C/G should be attributed to its N/Fe co-doping, the introduction of graphene, as well as the unique micro-nano structure, which can dramatically favor the oxygen reduction kinetics. Therefore, the cost-effective Fe–N–C/G can be one of the most promising ORR catalysts for application in a neutral medium and practical air-cathode MFCs.

Authors contributing to RSC publications (journal articles, books or book chapters)
do not need to formally request permission to reproduce material contained in this
article provided that the correct acknowledgement is given with the reproduced material.

Reproduced material should be attributed as follows:

For reproduction of material from NJC:
Reproduced from Ref. XX with permission from the Centre National de la Recherche
Scientifique (CNRS) and The Royal Society of Chemistry.

For reproduction of material from PCCP:
Reproduced from Ref. XX with permission from the PCCP Owner Societies.

For reproduction of material from PPS:
Reproduced from Ref. XX with permission from the European Society for Photobiology,
the European Photochemistry Association, and The Royal Society of Chemistry.

For reproduction of material from all other RSC journals and books:
Reproduced from Ref. XX with permission from The Royal Society of Chemistry.

If the material has been adapted instead of reproduced from the original RSC publication
"Reproduced from" can be substituted with "Adapted from".

In all cases the Ref. XX is the XXth reference in the list of references.

If you are the author of this article you do not need to formally request permission
to reproduce figures, diagrams etc. contained in this article in third party publications
or in a thesis or dissertation provided that the correct acknowledgement is given
with the reproduced material.

Reproduced material should be attributed as follows:

For reproduction of material from NJC:
[Original citation] - Reproduced by permission of The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) on behalf of the
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and the RSC

For reproduction of material from PCCP:
[Original citation] - Reproduced by permission of the PCCP Owner Societies

For reproduction of material from PPS:
[Original citation] - Reproduced by permission of The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) on behalf of the
European Society for Photobiology, the European Photochemistry Association, and
RSC

For reproduction of material from all other RSC journals:
[Original citation] - Reproduced by permission of The Royal Society of Chemistry

If you are the author of this article you still need to obtain permission to reproduce
the whole article in a third party publication with the exception of reproduction
of the whole article in a thesis or dissertation.

Information about reproducing material from RSC articles with different licences
is available on our Permission Requests page.